AMC’s neglect prompts pvt water project

Juhapura residents drill borewell, lay pipelines themselves for drinking water

DILIP PATEL

After tolerating the negligence of the civic body for years silently, residents of three societies in Juhapura reeling from acute water crisis have taken the onus of drawing running water to their homes on themselves. Sinking a borewell, they are laying pipelines under private land.
The 400 feet borewell was initially drilled by Abdul Qarim (32), a resident of Juhapura, for personal use. But the residents of the nearby Gulab Park, Golden Park Society and Hill Saz Park societies approached him for water. Qarim could not turn down their repeated requests.
A deal was struck between them. Each house owner of the societies agreed to pay Qarim Rs 100 a month for water twice a day. They also decided to bear the expenses of laying pipelines, estimated to cost Rs 85 per feet.
Twenty of the 700 houses have started getting running water. The rest will get water connections in 10 days.
Qarim is going ga ga over the project. “It’s win-win deal for me. I am doing a social work. The residents of the societies will bless me for my goodwill gesture. Besides, their monthly contribution will help me recover a portion of Rs 1.75 lakh I have spent in installing the borewell.”
The beneficiaries of the project are also just loving it. Noorjahan Ansari, a resident of Golden Park, said: “I had to fetch water from a hand-pump. But now I’ll get running water.”
The people’s solution to water crisis in Juhapura triggered a few posers on its legitimacy. But Nadeem Syed, a social worker, said the project did not flout any norm of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) because no Town Planning (TP) scheme had been made for Juhapura, in the New West Zone, till date.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner (New West Zone) MD Modiya said: “Laying pipelines under TP roads is illegal. There is nothing wrong if a borewell is drilled on a private land and pipelines pass through private land.”